Isaac Gets a Good Wife

DO YOU know who the woman is in this picture? Her name is Re·bekʹah. And the man she is coming to meet is Isaac. She is going to become his wife. How did this happen?

Well, Isaac’s father Abraham wanted to get a good wife for his son. He didn’t want Isaac to marry one of the women in Caʹnaan, because these people worshiped false gods. So Abraham called his servant and said: ‘I want you to go back to where my relatives live in Haʹran and get a wife for my son Isaac.’

Right away Abraham’s servant took ten camels and made the long trip. When he got near the place where Abraham’s relatives lived, he stopped at a well. It was late in the afternoon, the time when the women of the city would come to get water from the well. So Abraham’s servant said a prayer to Jehovah: ‘May the woman that gets some water for me and the camels be the one that you choose to be the wife of Isaac.’

Soon Re·bekʹah came along to get some water. When the servant asked her for a drink, she gave him one. Then she went and got enough water for all the thirsty camels. That was hard work because camels drink lots and lots of water.

When Re·bekʹah finished doing this, Abraham’s servant asked her the name of her father. He also asked if he could stay overnight at their home. She said: ‘My father is Be·thuʹel, and there is room for you to stay with us.’ Abraham’s servant knew that Be·thuʹel was the son of Abraham’s brother Naʹhor. So he knelt down and thanked Jehovah for leading him to Abraham’s relatives.

That night Abraham’s servant told Be·thuʹel and Re·bekʹah’s brother Laʹban why he had come. They both agreed that Re·bekʹah could go with him and marry Isaac. What did Re·bekʹah say when she was asked? She said, ‘Yes,’ she wanted to go. So the very next day they got on the camels and began the long trip back to Caʹnaan.

When they arrived, it was evening time. Re·bekʹah saw a man walking in the field. It was Isaac. He was glad to see Re·bekʹah. His mother Sarah had died just three years before, and he was still sad about this. But now Isaac came to love Re·bekʹah very much, and he was happy again.